Toy electric locomotive



March 26, 1929. ARDEN 1,706,765

TOY ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE Filed March 23, 19 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 r1 47 I 66 I 4450 7 6 2 Z r 49 47 8 o luau/01700 Z March 26, 1929. T. R. ARDEN TOY ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE Filed March 25, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 iiiiiii aiiii iiiiiiiliiiim|ui March 26, 1929. T. R. ARDEN TOY ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE Filed March 23, 1 928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3mm T R flnlan,

WITNES6EGI- Patented Mar. 26, 1929.

UNITED STATES THOMAS E. A RnEn, on BALDWIN, YOR ssIGivoR no Amman stem rise;

'00., on CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

'roY nnhornroioooivrorivn.

Application filed March 2a, 1928. Serial No. set-J92.

This invention relates to toy'electrio vehicles, such as locomotives, and has for its object to provide such a device of simple yet strong construction, attractive in appeal ance and inexpensive to manufacture.

A primary object of the invention. is to provide an electric locomotive having a chassis or platform which not only serves "as a base to which the super-structure or 1000- motive body may be attached in a convenient and expeditions manner, but ,which also carries therewith the entire driving unit or motor. Heretofore, it has been the practice to make the chassis or platform and the car body in separate parts and also build the motor between separate plates which were suitably attached to the platform or chassls. However, thls practice is more or less expensive since the motor has to -be made upas a special unit usuallycoinprising a motor frame including side plates and connecting parts which support the/wheels and motor field and armature, and also carries the trolley. These parts being made separately requireseparate operations and additional handling, and while motor units of this type are still used in the more expensive line of toys, nevertheless since it is the object of the invention to provide a'neat appearing, durable and cheap toylocomotive it is proposed to eliminate as far as possible. all'expensive time consuming operations. Therefore, the

present construction has in viewa platform or chassis which may be made as a, single.

casting-or preferably of stamped metal and which is provided with means for supporta mg the var ous parts of the motor, in such 'a way that the metallic side plates or clock plates as they are sometimes called, are 'entirely dispensed with and ,the motor, is mounted in such a way as to permit ofIaffording adequate lubrication for the armature shaft. p I

A further object of the invention'is to provide a construction which is self contained in the respect that the chassis and motor maybe assembled in a simple and expeditious manner as one piece, that is, onepart which may be handled with greater facility than two parts, and'whichwhen completed only requires the placing thereon the cab or super-structure of the locomotive to com? plots the car. I V I p y A still; further' object of the invention is to provide an improved. motor construction Fig. 1 is a sect'i which will require only a low voltage to 0p crate and which includes novel brush and armature features that insure a persisting contact between the brushes and the metallic armature segments thereby to prevent slowing down of the motor due to a poor contact which frequently happens where the brushes are hot pressed by spring pressure against the segments. While the brushes have been pressed gainst, the faces of the segments by spring pressure in prior structures, nevertheless the construction and arrangement of the sprin s carryingthe contacts was such that the li e of the spring readily gave out, due to the failure in resiliency "of the spring and the wear between the contact and the segments, and then either a higher voltage is required to operate the motor or themotor would cease to functionproperly under normal voltage. r

With. the above and other. objects in view which willmore readily appear as the nature of the invention is. better understood, the I same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, claimed. .7

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention isshown in the accompanying drawings in which j r "onal Ielevation of the vehicle. I I 1 V Fig. 2 isa bottom plan view of the same.

the vehicle.

a larger scale.

g 4 d the brush vsprings. y M Fig. 5 is a sideelevation with the cab. removed, looking at the other side from Fig. 1. ig. 6 isa side elevation of the chassis;

Fig. is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 8 is a face view of the motor comillustrated and Fig.3 is a vertical transverse section-of- Fig. Elis a SldGelGVfltiOIl of the motor on 5 are perspective views of part of the unit A is an integral structure,

preferably and as here shown, a sheet steel stamping providing a plate or body 1,

formed at its ends to represent plat-forms 18,

18, and pilots or cow-catchers 2, 2. The Sides of the middle portion of the frame are slit and bent down to form flanges 3, 3 which are provided with, holes'4', 4 for the axles, 5, 5 of the wheels 6, 6 and with lugs 7, 7 which serve for the attachment of an insulating plate 49 carrying the trolley 8.

The top central part 01 the body between said flanges is slit on three sides and bent up to form a flange 9, provided with a hole 10 for the mot-or armature shaft 11; also with a hole 12 for the axlelS of the transmission gear 14, and with the holes 15, 15, for'rivets or pins 16, 16. These pins serve, in connection with spacing sleeves'17, 17 to assit in supporting the field magnet 27 i as will presently appear.

The relatively wide platform ends of the body 1 are provided with short depending flanges 19, 19 and with slots 20, 20, to re ceive lugs 21 on the housing forming the cab 24. The slot 22 receives couplers 44 to connect the locomotive to cars, not shown, and the pressed up beads or corrugations 23, 23, stiffen the plate at the junction of said ends with the narrower central port-ion. The top edge of the relatively narrow central portion on the opposite side from the flange 9 is cut away as shown by the dotted line in'Fig. 6 to form on that side a seat or bearing 25 for the lower arm 26 01 the field magnet, the pole piece of which comprises two such arms 26 and a neck on which is mounted the coil 27. V

The armature shaft 11 is journaled at one end in said flange 9 and carries outsidethe latter the pinion 28, which drives the intermediate gear 14, which in turn drives the gears 29, 29, on the wheel axles 5, 5. The other end of the shaft 11 is journaled in the plate 30, which is of insulating fibre and may be impregnated with oil, or the like, for indirect lubrication. This insulating plate is secured to the lower arm 26 of the magnet by the bolts 16 and to the upper arm 26 by bolt 31, and a spacing sleeve. The said bolt also serves to hold one of the brush springs 32, while the other brush spring 33 is held to said plate by a screw 34, which acts as the binding screw for one of the wires 35 running to the magnet coil 27. These springs, which are of the special l'orniiation shown in Figss4= and 5, and form part of the circuit, persistently press the brushes 36, 36 mounted in holesin said plate 30, against the commutator 37, see Fig. 8. v

The commutator 'l'constitutes one of the novel and distinctive features of the invention and. is composed of a three-arm plate 38 of insulating material, with three copper plates 39 secured to its branches by eyelets 40, the plate 38 having three integral ribs 41, radiating from a central hub 42 and insulating the copper plates 39 from each other. 7

The ends of the brushes. 36 slide on the face of the plates 39, thereby conveyin g current to the coils 43 of the armature. The other wire 45 from the magnet coil is connected to the trolley'S at the binding screw 47. The brush spring 32 is connected to ground at 9, while the brush. spring is in series with the magnet coil 27 through wire 85, as above described. y

The headlight 46 is in a shunt circuit 49, grounded to the frame at g.

The trolley 8 is carried by an insulating plate 49, secured to the chassis by the lugs 7, 7 aforesaid. The track raiis 50, 50, the third rail 51 and its insulating chair 52 are shown in Fig. 4. I

All the working parts of the motor are assembled in self-contained units, which render their manufacture simple and assemblage easy.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention provides a frame, plate or body member 1 which carries the driving wheels and also carries the driving motor geared to said wheels, the saidbase also carrying therewith means for supporting and attaching the housingor cab and also being formed at the opposite end with the integral described. 7

l/Vithout further description it is thought that the features and advantages ofthe' invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will of course be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims. Y

I claim:

1. In a toy electric vehicle, a pressed steel chassis formed at its ends to represent car platforms adapted to support a car body or cab and provided with downwardly extend ing flanges to receive the wheel axles and with an upstanding flangeto support motor and transmission ear.

2. In a toy electric vehicle, the combinethe 7 pilot or fenders as previously tion with a one-piece chassis having an upwardly extending flange on one side and a seat or bearing surface on the other side, of a motor having its armature shaft journaled in said flange and its field magnet resting on said seat. Y

3. In a toy electric vehicle, the combination with a one-piece chassis having an upwardly extending flange on one side, of a motor having its shaft journaledat one end in said flange, and a plate of insulating material carried by the arms of the motor field magnet an'd having a-bearing forthe other end of said shaft.

at. I11 a toy electric vehicle, the combination with a one-piece chassis having an upwardly extending flange on one side and a seat or bearing surface on the other, of a motor having its armature shaft journaled in said flange and its field magnet resting on said seat, and a plate of insulating material carried by the arms of said magnet and supported from said flange andhaving a bearing for the other end of said shaft.

5. In a toy electric vehicle, the combination with a one-piece chassis h'avingan upwardly extending flange on one side, of a motor having its shaft journaled at one end in said flange, a plate of insulating material secured tov the field magnet of the motor and having a bearing for theother end of said shaft, brushes slidably mounted in said plate, conductive springs secured on said plate and pressing on said brushes, and a commutator carried by said shaft and on the face of Which said brushes slide.

6. Ina toy electric vehicle, an electricmotor comprising a field magnet and an armature, a commutator for the latter consistlng of a plate of insulatlng material faced by three 'metallic plates separated from each other by ribs on said plate, a pair of brushes slidably mounted parallel to the secured to said arms and having a bearing for the, other end of said shaft, and spring brushes mounted in saidinsulating plate.

8. In. atoy electric vehicle, a base, plate, comprising platforms at its ends, depending side flanges on its narrower central portion with bearings for the wheel axles, and an upstanding flange on one side of said central portion, a motor shaft journaled in said upstanding flange, a field magnet supported on said base plate and also fromsaid flange, a vertical-face commutator carried by said shaft, an insulating plate secured to said magnet, brushes slidably mounted in said insulating plate, conductive springs secured to said plate and bearing on said brushes, an insulating plate secured to said depending flanges and a current collector carried by said last mentioned plate.

9. In a toy electric vehicle, the combination'with the chassis, of a plate of'insulating material secured tothe lower part thereof, a trolley secured to the underside of said plate, an upstanding flange on one sideof said chassis, a plate of insulating material on the other side of the chassis and sup ported from said flange, a motor between said flange and said last mentioned plate, brushes slidable in the latter to convey current tosaid motor, and springs bearing on said brushes.

In' testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

THOMAS R. ARDEN. 

